Ultimate Work At Home Dads &#187; charles seymour jr

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Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and marketing-success coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and personal-touch marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, and Facebook applications. Visit his blog at http://bit.ly/24eYTO to learn more about his successes.

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093 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Passion

091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness Makes A HUGE Difference

Charlie Seymour Jr — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:04:45 +0000

The Sixth Key: Completeness

Years ago when I first worked with my very close associate, Cheryl, she said something to me that I never forgot.

I’ll tell you that in a minute. First some background.

Cheryl and I first met at a local theater where I was starting to direct musicals and she loved behind-the-scenes work, such as costuming. She worked at Franklin Mint in the ceramic figurines area making sure that all the details of a project were finished – from concept to getting it shipped for sales.

I could tell with my first interaction with Cheryl that she was a GREAT manager of a myriad of details.

So when my first production was over and I was pulling my team together for the next year’s production, I asked her if she’d like to work with me. (We then worked together in my photography business and my online business for about 20 years.)

One day at the theater I went to Cheryl to ask if she had completed what we agreed she’d do by that date.

And here’s what she said to me (that I’ve never forgotten): The first time I don’t complete something we’ve agreed I’d get done, then please start asking me about things; but just assume when I say I’ll get something done, I will… you no longer have to worry about whether or not it is finished.

WOW!

Someone after my own heart.

Can you see why we because fast friends and worked so long and so well together?

And I never DID have to ask her again.

She was absolutely complete in everything she did.

Phew…. how many times have I wished that she had not retired to the New Jersey shore… we’d STILL be working together.

Something about the trust I felt from that first moment. She said it, she did it. How much more complete could I ever ask for?!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

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Fallacies of Marketing

091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness Makes A HUGE Difference

091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness

Charlie Seymour Jr — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:01:59 +0000

The Sixth Key: Completeness

Have you ever noticed that when you ask for things from a restaurant and EVERY little detail is attended to how impressed you are with the place?

I guess we’re so impressed because it doesn’t happen too often.

But here’s a time that it happened for me.

My wife, Pam, and I loved to go to a place in the North Carolina mountains called The Swag. It’s a 5-star boutique cabin-hotel 5000 feet up the mountain next to the Great Smoky National Park. (When I say next to, I mean walk out the main building and walk about 20 feet and you’re at the dividing fence between The Swag and the National Park.)

The Swag is near Waynesville, NC USA which isn’t far from Asheville.

On our first trip there, they asked us to fill out a questionnaire where I listed that I’m allergic to onions. At about 3:30 in the afternoon the phone rang and it was the chef:

“Mr. Seymour I see you are allergic to onions and our salad dressing has a hint of onion in it…” and he went on to suggest another type of salad and dressing.

When we got to dinner, the hostess met us and mentioned that the chef had told her about “no onions” for me. And just to be safe, we were seated next to a couple who didn’t want onions either (not that I’m THAT allergic to them).

Now THAT felt like I had been heard and understood. THIS place really cared about me.

Usually I have to tell restaurants NO onions in my salad but then when my steak arrives it has an onion ring on the top (or onions in the vegetables).

There’s something about someone following up COMPLETELY that shows us uncommon respect.

And that feels great.

And makes us want to tell our friends about the place.

As I just told YOU about The Swag. It’s terrific!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

091 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Completeness

090 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Sacrifice

Charlie Seymour Jr — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:04:41 +0000

The Fifth Key: Your Clients’ Sacrifices

OK… so you busted your butt for your client but you get the feeling she just isn’t satisfied. Why does that “crazy person” act like that anyway?

Did you ever stop to think, from your client’s perspective, what she feels SHE sacrifices when it comes to your relationship.

Can you see that even as your relationship is just starting, your client feels that the balance of sacrifice is heavily weighed in HER favor and not yours?

So all he work you have to do on her project must tip the scales the other way. You must show that you are the best. You must get your work done with great quality and on time. And you must show you’ve sacrificed to make things work exceptionally well for your client.

Then… and only then… will she feel that YOU have the balance in YOUR favor. And then she will feel obligated to work more with her.

So… quality, timeliness, and sacrifice – they go a long way toward getting your client to want to work with you again. And let’s face it, after all the work you’ve put in, it is MUCH more economical to retain a client than to get a new one… so you WANT this one to stay.

Show that in everything you!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

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Fallacies of Marketing

090 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Your Clients’ Sacrifices

089 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Sacrifice

Charlie Seymour Jr — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:05:12 +0000

The Fifth Key: Sacrifice

People want to work with us when they trust us. People are glued to us forever when they see the sacrifice we incur for them.

When you promise something, deliver it. Don’t promise something you don’t think you can deliver, because people will no longer trust you to get it done.

However, when they see the sacrifice you go through to help them, when they see you have given it your all, they will be indebted to you and that feeling or reciprocity will be a powerful motivator to them to keep them working with you over and over again.

Have you ever had a time when someone working with you really gave all he or she had. Did you sense the extra effort, the long hours, the time away from family that went in to getting you what you needed on time and with the quality you require?

How did you feel?

Were you impressed? I can understand that. Were you feeling “this is a really good person”? I can understand THAT too.

And then did you work with that person again when the opportunity arose.

THAT is the key.

When you really sacrifice for your client, he or she will want to work with you again and again.

So – promise, deliver, and give it all you have to make things the best and most timely possible. Your clients will love you for it.

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

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Fallacies of Marketing

089 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Sacrifice

087 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:06:27 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – Communicating Your Special Expertise

Little did I know when I started this blog (with the intent that I’d finish with a complete book of my own) that Dr. Marc Kossmann and I would begin PersonalSuccess Marketing together (PersonalSuccessMarketing.com).

Dr. Marc is a psychologist from NYU and Widener by training and I’m an MBA marketer from Tufts and Wharton by training. He’s a clinical psychologist with patients and Adjunct Professor in Psychology and I’m a video-producing, audio-creating blogger and marketing consultant with clients and products of my own to market.

So What Is Our Connection AND What’s The Connection To This Topic?

Marc and I both love the psychology of marketing, why people buy, how they need to market, and we love telling stories to showcase our examples.

He was buying, fixing up, and selling houses for “fun” and additional income and I was a pro photographer.

But we both love marketing, how to do it best, and want to share our knowledge with others so they don’t have to go through what WE went through to learn all of it.

We met in a small business development group. We got to know each other over many months and learned how the other functioned. We liked each others’ sense of humor and dedication to getting the job done with no excuses for late or poor service.

OK… so he rides a motorcycle and I drive a small SUV, but we’re so alike in lots of ways.

Dr. Marc and Charlie Plan Their New Business

One of the first things Dr. Marc and I did was to write our own Legends. Before the next meeting, we had to put on at least FIVE sheets of paper what we’ve been doing with our lives and what really excites us.

I think Dr. Marc had 7 pages in a small font (all told in a narrative… and WELL told) and I had 11 (in a more chronological, list form). It was interesting to see HOW we each approached this assignment – we both had the task, both knew what was expected, yet our end results were created very differently.

But what we had when we finished was a detailed list of all of our skills and past activities.

Now we can use this information to marketing to various specialists who need what we have to offer. (We’re showing mid-life and mid-career professionals that they can get off the plateau in their business and in their life, create some true value in their businesses, and provide for themselves passive income that will keep flowing money to them well after they sell their businesses and retire.)

And since one of our goals is to show that we are “one of THEM” (whatever group we’re going to), knowing our backgrounds will let us show people how much we are like them.

People like to work with people they like. People like people who are like themselves.

We’re on the road creating marketing lessons and marketing plans to show people how we can help them. And with all the apparent expertise we have, we can show several niches of people that we are “just like them.”

Have YOU taken an assessment of what YOU have done over the years? You may be missing lots of opportunities until you do!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

087 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise-The Apparent Expertise Of One Specialist

086 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:07:28 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – Communicating Your Special Expertise

When I sold investment real estate (along the East Coast of the USA) I specialized in major office towers, large apartment complexes, and life care centers.

Not shopping centers or malls, not doctors’ offices or hospitals, not ocean resorts or hotels.

And I sold $247,368,657.97 worth of it (plus managed the marketing for about a billion more).

When I started my photography business, I specialized in family portraits, bat and bar mitzvahs, and weddings. All ON location (not in a cold, eerily-familiar studio). Every image was unique. The environs were unique to the family involved. And I came up with the phrase that I was “creating the heirlooms of tomorrow, today.”

Think about that for a moment – photographs of you on the beach as a kid or at an early birthday party seemed so ordinary when created but with the passage of time, they are all now special treasures.

And I knew all of mine would be as well.

Do you see how specializing helped me earn high fees?

In fact, there are photographers in my market who get half what I get paid for photography yet people walk past them to come to me.

Why?

Because I’m a specialist.

And I TELL people I’m a specialist (and then prove it with the type and quality of my work).

You Cannot Be All Things To All People

Many people believe that if they specialize (or as many of us in marketing say, “niche”), they will cut down the number of prospects and reduce their income.

That’s backwards (well, up to a point – I’ll explain that in a moment).

I always advise my consulting clients that their business should be “an inch wide and 20 miles deep.”

Here’s what I mean:

You should specialize and then do everything you can in that specialty.

To earn the highest fees, a doctor should be a specialist and know EVERYTHING about, say, the heart, the lungs, or the kidneys. She should be the go-to person when anyone ever needs that specialist. She should be the top-of-mind person when the need arises, so people naturally think of her when they need that specialist.

For my photography (I’m doing less and less with photography because my marketing business has increased so much) I have separate websites for each of my specialties. Let’s face it: a bride doesn’t want the best Bar Mitzvah photographer for her wedding. She wants to know that I understand the pressures she’s under, the joys she wants captured, special moments to look for, and how to work congenially with her family (and her NEW family).

So for ME, one website wouldn’t do that.

Charles Seymour Jr, Photographer is NOT the website that will convince that bride that I know what I’m doing (and give her the reason to pay me 47% more than she might pay someone else) but WeddingPhotographySecretsRevealed.com IS.

There’s a story I love (and it makes this point about “specialty” even clearer):

For years a local company went to a printer for their stationery. The owner did a great job for them in quality, timing, and price. And when they added a new employee and needed more stationery quickly, the printer was always quick to respond, showing great customer service to this client.

One day the client walked into the printer to order some more stationery and showed the printer her new business card, printed at another print shop.

“Why didn’t you ask ME to do that?” asked the printer.

“Oh, I thought you just did stationery. This printer told me he specialized in business cards, so I went there.”

So… while I always suggest people specialize and then make clear what that specialty is, you might specialize in SEVERAL things, and you want to be sure that you tell your prospects and clients what you do.

Just as I do. The last wedding I photographed was for the sister of a young man for whom I was the Bar Mitzvah photographer. The family loved my work, learned about my wedding photography from me after they were thrilled with the Bar Mitzvah album, and then asked me to present how I photograph a wedding.

And I got that business with NO new client, NO new marketing, and NO learning curve for the family – they knew they could trust me and the wedding went GREAT.

So… find your specialty and be sure to market it clearly!

Oh, yes… I promised to tell you why that was backwards: If you are a generalist and sell yourself like you can handle EVERYONE’S problems, no one will “see” you as the right person to help them.

Sure… you might FEEL like everyone is your prospect, but none of them will feel you are their solution to their problem.

But if someone would say to me, “Hey: 5’8”, bald, hazel-eyed, mustachioed men outside of Philadelphia, PA USA: I have something for YOU!” I would HAVE to pay attention.

See what I mean?

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

086 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise-Communicating Your Special Expertise

085 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:10:01 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – Words

For years I’ve been comfortable with words: speaking, writing, broadcasting, even singing.

But not everyone is.

Have you ever received an email from some one and wondered what the sender’s first language was?

I have.

And usually the native language has been English – American English.

Yet many of our children (and our adults) really have trouble putting a clear, complete sentence together.

It doesn’t help that terms like LOL, BRB, and BFF are now part of our language (Laughing Out Loud, Be Right Back, Best Friend Forever).

So what are people to do?

If you have computer problems, you get an expert to fix it for you. If your car needs work, you probably go to someone who knows what he’s doing. If you need good writing, get a writer to do it (not the person who happens to have some free time or wants to earn some money).

How do I do it?

I write most of my own posts, like this one. But even I call in some experts when I have lots of writing to do.

Sometimes I will “talk” my article into a recorder. Not dictate it… just talk out loud about what I want the article to say.

Some people can dictate well… I used to do it a LOT when I worked in corporate America… but I find not that my THINKING is halting as I compose a sentence in my mind before dictating it.

And sometimes I do a rough draft and send it to a writer-friend who listens to my basic description (I usually send an MP3 recording along with my draft) and sees what I’ve written. She then reworks what I’ve done and then I polish what she submits to me.

Why do I go to such lengths to get my writing in the shape I want it? Because even with the explosion of video and MP3 on the Internet, words are still King!

So… when YOU have something important to say, make sure it is said well. If YOU are good at writing, great. If not, get some help!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

085 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise-Words

084 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:03:39 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – You Only THINK You’re Being Clear

“So… was that clear?”

“Oh yes,” says the prospect, not wanting to admit she had NO idea what was just said. And even when she DID know what was just said, the salesman asking “was that clear” really only gets a reply that says “what I understood was clear to me the way I heard it… but maybe not the way YOU said it!”

When I coach people about their presentations and sit through them, some people have been highly trained to check in every few paragraphs. “Don’t you agree” or “Do you see what I mean?”

Clearly the prospect sitting there can only reply as to the way SHE heard it, so the salesperson has to think of a different question to ask.

Have you ever “barked” at your dog after he’s done something wrong. Have you found, as I have, that the WORDS mean nothing because the dog only understands (as much as a dog CAN understand) what your emotion-level was.

“Good Dog” in an upbeat tone means the same as “Bad Dog” said with the same inflection.

And whether you know it or not, that’s how your clients often hear you.

Her mind is on getting home for dinner, racing for some errands, or playing back what her boss said to her earlier in the day.

Self-talk is often MUCH louder than the volume of people talking AT us.

My daughter, Liz, once told me what Oprah has said about how she talks with Stedman, her man for many years.

“I need you to hear me,” Liz would say, using her right hand to gesture to me.

I’ve always known that when I fully concentrate, time and noises zoom by me and I am oblivious to them. I’m focused on what I am doing.

So if my wife, Pam, says something to me (and then later says “I told you about that!”) and she didn’t get my attention first, more than likely, I missed what she said.

Have you ever had a chat with a prospect, felt things went really well, but didn’t get the assignment when you really thought you had it?

There can be MANY reasons why things didn’t work out, of course… but, communication is usually a big part of it.

Avoid the jargon, use concrete metaphors to relate what you will do for your client, and ask LOTS of questions.

Questions let you know what’s really going on in your prospect’s mind… and never take the replies as a problem when your client gives you an objection: only people with some interest give you some objections – those who agree with you fully probably aren’t interested at all.

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

084 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise-You Only THINK You’re Being Clear

083 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:00:43 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – The Power of Clarity

Have you ever had a chat with someone and walked away and said, “HUH?!!”

If that were your client walking away, you just missed a sale.

Often when I’d photograph Young People’s Theatre Workshop and hear my younger daughter, Liz, talk to the young kids in her classes, I’d think “Wow, she makes that so clear to them.”

How did she do it?

She used age- and skill-appropriate metaphors.

She explained what she needed them to do in terms of something else they already knew.

“I need you to walk down to the edge of the stage as if you were a duck waddling in thick, sticky mud.” (Who couldn’t understand THAT! Can’t you just see a 6-year old doing exactly that?)

And notice that Liz’s explanation wasn’t filled with philosophical ideas or vague descriptions that her students wouldn’t understand.

We need to talk with our clients the same way.

And let’s face it: you can be the BEST at what you do but if you can’t tell others about it, you’ll never make a sale.

Let people join you in your enthusiastic ideas and they’ll line up to buy from you!

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

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Fallacies of Marketing

083 The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – Apparent Expertise-The Power of Clarity

Charlie Seymour Jr's 10 Tips for Marketing Success

Charlie Seymour Jr — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:40:32 +0000

If You're Like Me, You Like To Save Time By Learning From Others

I've been in the marketing business my whole life, or so it seems. I've had a lot of successes along the way and my share of failures.

In those 35 years since college, I've learned what works and what doesn't in the areas where I specialize. Some things I studied and tried on my own, some I had to learn the hard way, and some things were pointed out to me.

If you’re like me, you like to save time by learning from others who have “already been there.” Why reinvent the wheel when it’s already been invented.

Here are some ideas that can help you save time and make more money.

1. One Small Step Can Change Your Life

The number one thing I've learned in all my years as a marketer is that one small step can work wonders. It's all about learning a new habit, a new way of being.

You've got to ease into any new behavior gradually and then keep at it.

I knew a woman who wanted to quit smoking. She'd tried many times but failed. She just couldn't get up in the morning without having a cigarette with her morning coffee, it was that deeply ingrained in her.

She couldn't do it on her own, so she took a program at a local hospital. She was taught, over the course of eight weeks, to gradually wean the cigarettes from her life.

The first morning, she had a whole cigarette with coffee, the next week, she only smoked ¾, the week after that, she had ½ a cigarette at breakfast.

She followed this regime, and at the end of eight weeks, she didn't want to smoke at breakfast. She had quit smoking with no withdrawals, no cravings, no hair pulling.

It wasn’t easy, but she did it.

Ease into your new behaviors gradually, in increments that you can handle easily.

Don't start contacting 100 people on the first day. Start off with 10. Move up to 20 the second week, 30 the third week and so on.

Before you know it, you'll have developed a new, constructive habit that will help you grow your business to amazing heights.

2. Nothing Substitutes For Experience

Nothing beats experience. And the only way to get experience is to get out there and DO IT.

You can only read so much about maximizing profits, driving more traffic to your site, and having successful affiliate programs. At some point you've got to experience it for yourself, see what it's like to set up you own site, and start the ball rolling.

Just get out there and go for it.

Remember: I'll always be here to help you through the tough spots.

Think of this site as an oasis of support. Come back here with your questions (and believe me, you'll have questions) and I'll get you the answer as soon as possible.

Leave comments here on my blog – I read them all and comment back. Let the community know how you're doing. Tell us about your successes as well as the things you'd do differently next time.

And if you find you want MORE help, maybe you’re ready for my next website with Dr. Marc Kossmann: PersonalSuccessMarketing.com – Click Here To Learn More!

3. Copy Successful Businesses

Is there a website that you admire? One that seems to be successful, one that provides a valuable service, one that you'd like to imitate?

Well, why not model your business after it? Find out what makes it tick, who's behind the scenes, and why it's as successful as it is.

Contact that person, make a new friend, see how you two can make things better for both of you.

There's nothing wrong with copying a successful business (NOT the specific WORDS, of course, but the ideas about how a business thrives). Many have done it before you and there's no reason you shouldn't take advantage of a tried-and-true practice.

4. Re-Purpose Existing Content

How many ways can you use the materials you create?

Let’s say you've produced a great article on the value of affiliate relationships.

How can you change the wording a bit, rework the format, and produce a press release? Or, turn it into a script and use it for the voice-over on a video. Shorten it up, condense the message, and use it as a blog post or tweet.

See how creative you can get repurposing your existing content?

It's fun and, if you're paying to have content written for your site, you'll get a lot more bang for your buck.

5. Keywords Are Key

Find out what prospective clients are looking for and let them have it.

An easy way (and it's free) to see what people are looking for is to search in Google or Bing “top internet searches.”

Research the results to see if you can write some content based on your findings. Why waste time creating something that no one is looking for? Create content based on search needs that already exist.

And when you do that, people will flock to your website to get your answers. And who knows, they may click on one of your ads or purchase one of your products.

Sounds like a good idea, right?

6. Be In-The-Know

Make sure you always keep up-to-date with the latest technological advances.

Keep current on new web developments, like Social Networking and Web 2.0.

Make sure you're aware of any new applications that are lurking behind the scenes and get to know how they work and how they can benefit you and your clients.

And when you learn something new from a website like this one or others, be sure to tell people through Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. It’s great to know new information, but it only helps others when you tell them.

Be the person that everybody goes to when something new hits the web.

Now THAT is a great way to build more traffic to your website!

7. Don't Get Suckered Into Fads

There is no magic formula for a successful internet business. And there are many different ways to create one.

You have to work hard at it every day. Don’t be sidetracked by those offering a miracle in the guise of a trendy new product.

Your business will grow like magic if you perform certain tasks every day, like promoting your business, creating content, and connecting with 100 people.

Sure, it would be nice to open a bright, shiny box and pull out a fix-all widget that you can plug into your existing website. But it just isn't going to happen.

Put your nose to the grindstone and make the magic happen on your own.

And be sure to study those who can tell you HOW to do what you need to do.

Working hard at the wrong thing heads you quickly into a dead end. Learn from websites like this one or my PersonalSuccessMarketing.com – be sure you’re headed in the right direction!

8. Focus On High Traffic Websites

To paraphrase the Pareto Principle, 80% of your results are produced by 20% of your actions.

In other words, 80% of your passive income is coming from 20% of your affiliates. Make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck by focusing on the high traffic websites.

A good way to find out which sites are high traffic is to check out Alexa.com. You can get some information for free, but more is only available if you pay. Check it out and see if it feels like it could help you in some way.

9. Promote Your Business Daily

Make a habit out of getting your name in the public eye. Find 5 or 10 areas, such as blogging, press releases, and Facebook, where you can promote your business every day.

Make this part of your daily routine. Soon you'll have created a habit and promoting will become second nature to you.

Now, some people tell me that they are shy and don’t want to be pushy. Let me help you with that.

Are you in business to HELP people? Is it fair if you know how to help them but you don’t tell them about it? Don’t you want to help as many people as you can?

If YOU don't let people know what you can do and how you can help them, how can they improve their lives?

There are people out there who need help that only YOU can provide. Share your fabulousness with the world! Promote, promote, promote.

It’s not pushy, it’s not forcing people to work with you, it’s not putting a gun to their heads. But if YOU don’t tell them about how you can help them, who will!??

10. Use Affiliates And Joint Ventures Judiciously

Invest a portion of your day developing affiliate and joint venture relationships. These can be very beneficial and lucrative to both parties involved. It's worth your continued effort to develop these income streams.

When you do form relationships, make sure your partner's product is something you're proud of and want your name attached to.

Don't pimp yourself just for the sake of having a little passive income each month.

We leave this life with our family’s love and our reputations and little else. Make sure ALL you do maintains yours to the highest standard.

Remember – It All Begins With The First Step

I hope these tips will help you in your business.

If you have any thoughts on this article, be sure to post your comments here. Let's get some good discussions going and support each other at the same time.

That’s how I started – people helped me and I helped them right back. It really does work that way!

And be sure to leave us a comment below – tell us what you think about this article and add your own information too!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

PS: You can find me here:

To learn more, stay in touch with my blog – I'll keep you informed so that YOU won't have to do the heavy lifting. Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog – Click HERE To See More!

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

Keep this with this article, please:

Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and success-marketing coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and personal-touch marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, Facebook, and Twitter applications. Visit his blog at Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog to learn more about his successes.

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Marketing Suggestions – Charlie Seymour Jr's 10 Tips for Marketing Success

082The Invisible Touch – The Eight Keys to Lasting Relationships – 4. Apparent Expertise

Charlie Seymour Jr — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:07:43 +0000

The Fourth Key: Relationships – Apparent Expertise

I have a long family history in theater: I know what it takes to "play the part."

Have you ever seen a politician on TV delivering some really sad news but he seems to be smiling? YIKES… what mixed signals that delivers!

We must be careful in our businesses to deliver a consistent message in everything we do… and then we must "look the part."

We must have the real expertise AND the appearance of the expertise.

For example,

A very overweight person might look like a great chef, but perhaps not the dietitian.
A young woman with bright orange hair and a pierced eyebrow might be a terrific rock singer, but she'd have a tough time convincing middle-aged woman that she will deliver a decent haircut.
A doctor can dress in a sportshirt on a TV show, but studies have shown that most of us have more confidence in our doctors when they dress in their white lab coats (with their names embroidered on them).

Silly?

Perhaps.

But the expression, "You can't tell a book by its cover" came about because that is exactly what people DO.

We all make judgments all the time. And when the physical look equals what we expect, we feel more confident in the person delivering the service to us.

Keep that in mind next time you meet a client. Do you look the part?

And now – leave me a comment here to tell me what YOU feel about this!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
Blogging, Podcasting, Consulting

The Invisible Touch – A Marketing Blog Series By Charles Seymour Jr
For The Index, Click Here!

PS: You can find me here:

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.